The Human Element
Although large global outbreaks have declined over the past five years, malicious software attacks continue to cost millions of people time and money. More attacks now concentrate on specific targets or regions. Even worse, the software has grown more sophisticated and stealthy, making these attacks much more dangerous than before.
According to a recent report from the research firm IDC, "The motives and intentions of virus writers have changed drastically over the last few years. In the past, amateurs seeking notoriety typically created worms and viruses to destroy data. Today, more sophisticated attackers, often professionals and organized crime, are increasingly using worms, spam, spyware, and viruses to obtain credit card numbers, bank account information, and other confidential information to perpetrate identity theft or competitive disruption. The sophistication and scale of online frauds and identity thefts are increasing at a rapid pace."
The right software can do a lot to keep you safe from viruses, spyware, and spam. "Trend Micro has had years of experience in the secure content management market and has been actively implementing enterprise-class functionality down into its consumer/retail products," says Jamz Yaneza, a senior threat analyst at Trend Micro's Pasadena Labs. "We were the first to send out antivirus updates using the Internet instead of sending out a monthly pattern update CD, which used to be the norm years ago."
Still, "you can only put so much faith in technology," adds Yaneza. "For whatever reason, people don't necessarily understand the vastly different perils possible being online versus using pen and paper. Applying the same real-world trust level on the Internet has ultimately been the reason so many users still routinely click on attachments apparently coming from their friends and family."
How can you protect yourself? Jeffrey Aboud, a threat response marketing manager at Trend Micro, claims that the answer has three parts: vigilance, education, and innovation.
"External and internal threat issues require organizations and individuals to stay on top of security issues," he explains, "such as having security policies in place, having policies for screening e-mails, etc. There's no answer from a simply technological point of view."
"[We] need to go directly to end-users to educate them about safe surfing," concludes Yaneza. "Threat protection is a never-ending struggle — everyone has to have some involvement."
